Amazon makes last-minute bid to buy TikTok as deadline looms, US report says

As the weekend deadline for TikTok to find a buyer approaches, bidders for the short-video social media site are piling up.

Amazon and, separately, a consortium led by OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely are the latest to throw their hats into the ring for TikTok. The site faces an April 5 deadline to reach a deal to find a non-Chinese buyer under threat of being banned from the United States.

US officials have raised security concerns over the app’s ties to China, which TikTok and owner ByteDance have denied. Trump administration officials are meeting on Wednesday to discuss the various options for TikTok.

Start-up Zoop, which is run by Stokely, founder of adult content social media site OnlyFans, has partnered with a cryptocurrency foundation to submit a late-stage plan to bid for TikTok, the two said on Wednesday.

A US administration official confirmed Amazon had sent a letter to US Vice-President J.D. Vance and Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Amazon declined to comment, while TikTok and ByteDance did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Shares of Amazon rose about 2 per cent following news of the last-minute TikTok bid.